Today, my dear LSAT prep friends, I’d like to go over another one of the many types of Sufficient & Necessary statements, which I'm sure you have seen while answering LSAT practice questions. Today let’s review the “no” statement. This statement has the following pattern: “No A is B.” The “no” in the statement introduces the sufficient condition and the rest of the statement should first be negated and then will constitute the necessary condition.
For example: “No A is B.”
Rewrite: If A, then not B
Diagram: A ==> not B
B ==> not A
Now let’s look at a real “no” statement.
Example #1: No baby elephant weighs more than their mother.
Sufficient condition: baby elephant
Necessary condition: does not weigh more than mother
Rewrite: If a baby elephant, then does not weigh more than its mother.
Diagram: BE ==> not WMM
WMM ==> not BE
Simple, right? Ultimately, it’s like your placing the negation of the “no” onto the necessary condition. So, the sufficient condition is not negated, while the necessary condition is. Let’s try again.
Example #2: No baby elephant is afraid of a flock of ducklings.
Sufficient condition: baby elephant
Necessary condition: is not afraid of a flock of ducklings
Rewrite: If baby elephant, then it is not afraid of a flock of ducklings.
Diagram: BE ==> not AFD
AFD ==> not BE
Now go forth and practice the “no” statement on your own by answering a Sufficient & Necessary LSAT practice question! It’s good to go over a different Sufficient & Necessary statement everyday so that come test day, you will know them all like the back of your hand!
Happy Studying!
